Someone met her on the other side, “what happened?” as she led her down a hallway.
“Well, I just came home from school and my house was gone and the police weren’t very helpful and they just took me here” Natalia knew she sounded crazy but to her that was the truth so far. They lady nodded and indicated that they were at where they were going.
“Here is where you can sleep tonight. Pick out a bunk and I’ll bring you a few things. There’s a restroom down the hall.”
Natalia picked out a bottom bunk, sat down and look around. There wasn’t anyone else in the room at the moment. It was a narrow room with bunk beds lining the walls. She sat and thought. What the hell had happened, this was all wrong. Where are my parents -?
They lady came back bearing a bundle, “Here is some linens a towel and a few toiletries. Make yourself comfortable. Any questions?”
She had a million but the only one that made it out of her mouth was “is there a phone I could use, because my cell died earlier today?”
“Yes, you can use the one at the front, anything else?” there was not. The lady left. Natalia started crying.
#
She headed toward the front, trying to recall her parent’s cell numbers. It was first lady that was very kind at the desk and showed her to the phone. She dialed and the numbers did not work. Neither did her grandparents number. This was the definition of what wrong was. She headed back to the bunks. Sat down and cried some more. It was around eight o’clock and the house disappeared around two o’clock. Six hours of wrongness is very unpleasant for a young one left all alone in the world. She slept.
Around midnight she was awakened by someone stumbling in and falling. She looked over and saw an old lady who was probably drunk and dressed like a hobo. She got up to she if she was alright. They old lady was pulling herself up as she neared. Natalia offered her a hand, the lady accepted it stood up and looked her in the eye.
“They are not gone yet. Soon, they will be. But not yet. To another world they have gone…but to which that is the question” the lady slid onto a bottom bunk, “my name is Sue. It is nice to meet you Natalia Blank.”
Natalia took a step back, “how do you know my name?”
“I know everyone’s name,” she said. She lay down and passed out. Natalia went back to her bunk and fell asleep once more.
#
Daylight shone on her face and she woke up. She kept her eyes shut hoping it had all been a dream, that she was in her home, and there would not be a crazy lady snoring a few bunks over. She listened and heard snoring. Crap. It was real. She kind of hoped that if it was real that at least that the old lady was a dream. But no, she sat up and saw her. She went to the restroom. When she got back the lady was still passed out. Natalia decided to take inventory of her belongings. It was Saturday so she did not have school so most of what was in her backpack would be useless. School supplies - useless; wallet - not so useless. She had nowhere to go and she knew she could not stay here… she did not belong here.
“Hun, why don’t you come with me” the old lady Sue was awake and this made Natalia jump because. Natalia looked up and saw the lady standing up and getting her stuff together not still passed out like she thought she was.
“Where are you going,” Natalia wanted to know.
“The library.” Natalia shrugged and figured it would do no harm. They walked in silence all the way there. It was not that far seeing that they were already downtown. This was a strange place for Natalia. She usually was never downtown - she liked to frequent places closer to her home on the west side of town… but now her home was no more and the nearest library was one she had never been to before. As they approached Natalia stopped and said:
“This is a library?”
“Yes, yes. Come on they are waiting,” The older lady said.
Natalia asked, “Who is waiting?”
“You’ll see.” And she entered. Natalia had no choice but to follow her into the strange building that looked nothing like any library she had ever seen. It was about seven stories high, modern looking. Way too modern looking for a library. It was made out of that one way glass that looks like a mirror from the outside. There were no visible doors on this side of the building but Sue was standing purposely in front of a pane of glass waiting for Natalia to stand next to her. When Natalia stood next to her Sue grabbed her hand and they walked forward. Sue placed her own hand upon the middle of the glass and something beeped and the glass slide open…it was a door. Natalia gasped at what she saw when it opened fully.
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